


Don’t Lie to Save Me, Kill Me With The Truth

by 1529Jake



Category: Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys (Album), Fall Out Boy, My Chemical Romance
Genre: Badass, Betrayal, Brainwashing, Danger Days AU, Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, Folie à Deux (Fall Out Boy), Frerard, M/M, Protectiveness, petekey
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-25
Updated: 2017-10-28
Packaged: 2019-01-05 04:35:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12182982
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1529Jake/pseuds/1529Jake
Summary: When Sandman finds a half-dead patient for the doctor in the zones, he's not expecting the kid to be so intriguing– Or dangerous. Party Poison tries to cope with the loss of two loved ones, and makes plans to get them back.





	1. Section 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TwentySixNine (1529Jake)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/1529Jake/gifts).



> I'm dedicating this to my friend, who is joining me as a co-owner of this account, and will also be posting works here.

Night patrols were always up to Mr. Sandman. He blended into the darkness much better than his friends, and he liked it much better anyway, since he generally didn’t sleep through the night like the others did. Sandman had nothing better to do, so he went out early, despite the sun still blaring down on him. All that meant was that he had to keep moving to avoid getting ghosted by the sun or the static. He was used to that, he wasn’t good at staying in one place anyway.  
He and his companions ran a secret organization for healing those who were injured or sick, generally at the hands of the evil corporation Better Living Industries, or BL/ind. He knew of others in Battery City that were against BL/ind, most notably the Killjoys, who he had never seen before, but had heard much about. The things he had heard ranged from people saying they were saviors, to saying they were just as corrupt as the company itself. Sandman didn’t know, but he figured anyone willing to take a stand against BL/ind. couldn’t be inherently evil.  
He and his friends were not like the Killjoys. They didn’t take on BL/ind hands on, with guns blazing like the vigilantes. They worked more in secret, scouting 24/7 and bringing back anyone in need of help. There, Dr. Benzedrine did what he could to help the poor soul, and if they managed to get them out alive, they only hoped they could stay that way a little longer.  
It wasn’t easy living in Battery City in this day and age. BL/ind kept the place under an iron fist, forcing mind altering drugs on it’s citizens, and changing them into mindless drones for their use. If you weren’t running from BL/ind, you were running from the world itself, since the apocalypse had changed the atmosphere just enough to make them susceptible to the increasing heat. Many were ghosted at the hands of the sun, setting fire to those who stayed in one place for too long.  
Which was another reason Sandman, along with H. Shoe Crab and Donnie The Catcher, were so focused on their scouting trips, doing the best they could to find anyone that could end up ghosted.  
Today, Sandman found the first victim pretty quickly, a body laying in the sand, one he had expected to already be gone by now. But upon further inspection, he realized that the man wasn’t ghosted, not yet. He was still breathing, just barely, and with the stiff way he had been laying, Sandman was sure he had been shot with a stunner.  
If people were being shot by stunners, then that meant Exterminators were around. Perhaps they were after this man, or perhaps he had just gotten in the way. Though, considering the bright red designer ray gun he had, Sandman didn’t think he was just an innocent civilian.  
He slung the man over his shoulders, a difficult task, considering he was much taller than Sandman was. He was glad they weren’t far from their base of operations, and headed back, hoping Dr. Benzedrine was ready for a particularly intriguing patient.  
~  
Kobra Kid woke in an unfamiliar room, laying flat on a bed and staring straight at the grey ceiling. He instantly went into defense mode, knowing that this was definitely not one of the Killjoys’ undisclosed locations, so someone had to have taken him somewhere else. After what happened to Fun Ghoul, he was particularly afraid of where he could be, and hoped he wasn’t at BL/ind HQ.  
A look to his left told him he wasn’t alone. A man leaned casually against a desk, dressed in all black, and sporting a strange skeletal face paint over his mouth. Kobra’s jacket was hanging on the chair, and the man was currently going through his things.  
“Hey...” Kobra said, annoyed.  
“Oh, good you’re awake.”  
“Who are you? And where am I?”  
“I am Mr. Sandman, and we’re still in Zone 4. I found you out on Route Guano, half on your way to being ghosted.” He said. “Dr. Benzedrine’s a little busy right now, so I’m gonna stick around and make sure you don’t die before he gets here.”  
“Mr. Sandman?” Kobra asked, raising an eyebrow.  
“Hope there’s no hard feelings for not giving you my real name.” Sandman said. “Though, I doubt ‘Kobra Kid’ is your real name.” He held up a small BL/ind identification card each of the Killjoys usually used to hack into things. “Cobra doesn’t have a K in it, by the way.”  
“Yeah, I know. Give that back.” He reached out and snatched the card from Sandman’s hand, earning him a small chuckle.  
“I figure you’re not a Drac or an Exterminator either, considering it looks like they’re the ones that left you out there like that.”  
“Yeah, no.” Kobra said, rubbing his face as if he had a headache. “Okay, ah, thanks for the help, but I’ve got to get going.”  
Sandman opened his mouth to say something, but never got to it, because Kobra got up, much too quickly. The moment he stood, he paled and immediately feinted. Sandman had expected this, and caught him under the arms before he could hit the ground. He was quick to regain consciousness, but still looked ill when he opened his eyes.  
“You can’t go, you’re clearly not ready for that yet. Like I said, the doctor will be here soon, he’s working on something right now.” Sandman told him, sighing as he gently leaned him against the bed. Sandman bent down, and looked Kobra in the eyes, noting the way they were crossing as if he were still experiencing tunnel vision. “Can you hear me?”  
“Yeah.” He replied, but his voice was distant and weak, and his head had begun to loll.  
“Jesus christ, you’re really dehydrated.” Sandman put a hand to Kobra’s cheek to keep his head upright and found that he had broken out into a cold sweat. “Alright, hold on. Keep talking to me. Do you have a family?” Sandman stood, but kept an eye on Kobra as he crossed the room to the sink, and began filling a cup full of water.  
“Yeah. Kinda.”  
“Okay. What are their names?”  
“Party Poison, Fun Ghoul and Jet Star.” He said, as Sandman returned with the cup.  
“Hey, you think you can lift your head? I want you to try to drink something.”  
Kobra tried to push him away, but didn’t accomplish more than a light tap on his chest in his current state.  
“Bad idea, my brother says–”  
“It’s just water.” Sandman interrupted, but Kobra didn’t listen, turning his head away and putting up a fight. Sandman had to straddle him, using his weight to pin him against the bed so he wouldn’t end up hurting either of them by struggling so much. “You’ve got to trust me, I’m not drugging you. You’re already so out of it, if I wanted to kill you I wouldn’t go through the trouble of trying to poison you, okay? I just want you to take a sip of water. Just one right now, can you say yes?”  
“Yeah...”  
“Okay.”  
Sandman shifted a little. He wasn’t sure if Kobra really knew what was going on right now, because his eyes were still closed and his breathing shallow.  
“Okay, can you feel this?” He asked, putting two fingers against Kobra’s bottom lip, which was dry and drained of color.  
Kobra nodded, just slightly.  
“Okay, good.” Sandman said, replacing his fingers with the cup. He slipped his other hand around the back of Kobra’s head to give him some support. “Your color’s coming back. That’s a good sign.”  
Kobra sighed heavily, and ran the back of his hand over his forehead. He had opened his eyes, and was now trying to focus on Sandman’s face without letting it blur out again.  
“Are you too hot?” Sandman asked, placing the now half-full cup on the ground next to them.  
“Yes... I think that might be part of the... Um... Problem.” Kobra said, taking a moment to form his thoughts.  
“Okay. I’m going to help you take your shirt off.”  
“I’m not usually like this.” Kobra said, almost defensively. “I don’t ever pass out. I’ve trained so I can fight without any sort of obstacles like this.”  
“I believe you.”  
“I’m sorry.”  
“Okay.” Sandman couldn’t help but stifle a small laugh, because it was so pointless for him to apologize, yet he was doing it anyway. “It’s not your fault, you were out on Route Guano for who knows how long in that heat, the sun could’ve ghosted you, and you’re really dehydrated. It would happen to anyone. That’s why I’m trying to help you. Can I help you take your shirt off so you can cool down?”  
“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.”  
Sandman pulled the shirt up and over Kobra’s head, who lifted his arms to help, but then let them drop limply to the floor immediately after.  
“Is that better?” Sandman asked, but he didn’t end up getting a reply, because Dr. Benzedrine walked in.  
It was in that moment that Sandman realized he was straddling a shirtless guy against a bed with his hand on his face, which he figured looked pretty bad out of context.  
“Oh, geez.” The doctor said, looking surprised. “Sorry, I thought you wanted help with a patient, I’ll just...”  
He made to leave, but Sandman stood quickly, and stopped him.  
“It’s not what it looks like.” He said, laughing awkwardly. “He passed out, and I was... Well, okay, yeah, I get that that looked a little weird, but I swear I only had to pin him down like that because he was struggling–Ohh, shit that just made it sound worse.”  
“You’re very flustered.” The doctor mentioned, trying to ignore whatever he just walked in on, and entering the room. “You said he passed out? Did you give him water?”  
“Yes! That’s why it looked like that, I had to give him water.” Sandman said. “And I took his shirt off to get him cooled down.”  
“Everything you did was right. I think.” Dr. Benzedrine said, looking his friend up and down with an expression of mixed confusion and disappointment. “Perhaps the methods were a little unconventional, but you haven’t seemed to worsen his condition.”  
“Good.” Sandman said, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably.  
“Hi there,” Dr. Benzedrine addressed Kobra, bending down and flashing a light in each of his eyes. “You look a lot better than you did when Sandman brought you in. How are you feeling?”  
“Like shit, honestly.” Kobra replied.  
“Understandable.” Dr. Benzedrine said gently. “Do you think you can stand up and sit on the bed?”  
Kobra nodded, “I think so.”  
“Come help.” The doctor said to Sandman, and they each took one of Kobra’s arms, helping him up onto the bed. “I want to make sure you’re in stable condition. Are you alright if I do some tests? Hand me that water.”  
“What kind of tests?” Kobra asked suspiciously, as Sandman grabbed the cup from the ground and handed it to the doctor.  
“Blood pressure, autonomic reflexes, blood tests... Basic things to make sure you’re getting better and not going to have another episode again.” Dr. Benzedrine said, offering the water to him.  
Kobra took the cup, and drank a bit of it.  
“Alright, fine. But then I get to start asking you some questions.”  
“Fair enough.” Sandman said.  
~  
“Poison, you have to stop overreacting. You’re breaking Dr. D’s things.”  
Jet Star watched as his friend picked up a knick knack from the shelf, and whipped it at the wall, leaving a sizable dent.  
“Ghoul is being brainwashed and drugged by BL/ind, and he’s trying to fucking kill us, and now we have no idea where my brother is.” He whipped another item, this time knocking a vase over and letting it smash to the floor. “Of course I’m overreacting!”  
A month previously, Fun Ghoul had been taken by BL/ind, and the Killjoys had presumed he was dead. He had looked dead. They hadn’t been able to save him, but they had seen him limp and lifeless. But a week ago, they had seen him again for the first time, and he was very much not dead. No, he was alive, but he was now no better than the Draculoids and Exterminators who were trying to kill them every day. It was purely painful to see him like that, with his hair cut short, dressed in all white, stripping him of everything he was and turning him into an emotionless killer.  
“You need to stay calm.” Jet said. “I know you just want to storm right in there and attack them, but you can’t, okay? That’s a surefire way to get ghosted. We need to stay level headed and strategize if we want to get them back.”  
“I hate that you’re always right.” Poison said, crossing his arms.  
“Yeah, but it keeps you people alive.”  
“Hopefully.” Poison muttered, blowing some of his bright red hair out of his face.  
“They’ll be fine.” Jet assured him. “We’ll figure out a way to get Ghoul back to who he was before, and nothing too bad can happen to Kobra. The kid is capable of taking care of himself, you know.” “I know. But I’m still going to worry. I’m supposed to protect him.” Poison said. “You’re sure you didn’t see him after we got split up?”  
“I scouted the entire ten mile radius. I would have seen him.” Jet said.  
“Goddamn it.” Poison swore. “If I had just let Korse go instead of chasing after him, I could’ve prevented this. I thought I could follow him to Ghoul.”  
“It’s okay, we’ll figure it out.” Jet said, staying as calm as he could, despite his own fears.  
~  
Party Poison didn’t tell Jet Star where he was going, or that he was going anywhere at all. He also didn’t tell him that following Korse hadn’t been an entire failure. He hoped he would return to Jet once the night was over; he didn’t want to leave him all alone, but he wasn’t so sure he’d make it out of this alive.  
“Frank?”  
He thought maybe using his real name would remind him who he was, remind him that there were only three people who knew that name.  
Really, he shouldn’t have come. Something was very wrong with Ghoul, and that much was clear. But the fact that he wasn’t dead was too much for Poison. He had to see him again. Had to figure out what they could have possibly done to him that made him the way he was now.  
“I’m surprised you actually came.” Ghoul said, stepping out of the shadows.  
He didn’t look like himself anymore. Not really. His once long hair was chopped short, and he wore a plain white suit, a stark contrast to his formerly grungy look. Most of his tattoos were hidden, save for the ones on his hands. But despite all of the changes, his eyes were still the same. Soft, bright, and hazel.  
“Are you really?” Poison asked, sighing. “How couldn’t I come? You’re not dead. What did they do to you?”  
“Pills.” Ghoul said simply. “Medication. Makes me do what they say. Doesn’t really bother me much. They treat me fine.”  
“They’re forcing drugs on you and making you do what they say. How is that not abuse?” Poison asked, cautiously moving towards him.  
Ghoul shrugged.  
“I’m here, aren’t I?” He said, striding over to fill the space between them. He was close now, too close for the enemy. “They can’t be controlling me that much, if I’ve got enough freedom to meet up with you.”  
“I should be ghosting you.” Poison said, stuttering a bit. “Everything you’ve done with them... The old you would have wanted me to.”  
“I’m sure I would’ve wanted that at one point.” Ghoul said, smirking a bit, as if the thoughts of his former self were ridiculous. “And you probably should ghost me, but you won’t. You love me too much.”  
He ran his hands slowly down Poison’s arms. It was something that would have been intimate in any other situation, but now it just left Poison chilled, with a nasty feeling in the pit of his stomach.  
Ghoul began to walk around him, trailing a hand around with him to first rest on his shoulder, then brush along the back of his neck. Poison stayed still, knowing he was right about his last sentiment. Poison was giving Ghoul the ability to ghost him here and now if he wanted to, and he wouldn’t have done anything to prevent it. He didn’t think he could bring himself to, and he couldn’t hold back the tear that slipped down his cheek.  
“You want to know a secret?” Ghoul asked in a whisper, his lips brushing up against Poison’s ear. “I think I must still love you, too.”  
Poison believed him. BL/ind could do whatever they wanted to him, but they couldn’t completely destroy who Ghoul was. If he wasn’t still in there, Poison would either be dead by now, or on his way to Korse. But Ghoul was making no attempts to assist the corporation in getting what they wanted. At least not now. They had less control on him than they thought. He was a fighter.  
“I’ll see you around, Gee.” Ghoul said, walking away.  
Poison watched him leave, and stayed there for a while, even after he was gone.


	2. Section 2

“Are you good in here? We’ve got a Level 4 in the Contamination Ward.” H. Shoe Crab said, poking his head in the door.  
“Level 4? Those are always fun... You good answering his questions on your own, Sandy?” The doctor asked, raising an eyebrow.  
Sandman rolled his eyes, because he knew that the doctor was teasing him for the previous incident.  
“I think I can handle it.” He replied, letting a hint of dry sarcasm slip into his words.  
“Okay. I’ll take care of this, and then get the results for these tests. Have fun.”  
“You too.” Sandman smirked, knowing how terrible and gross Level 4 contaminations were.  
“Answer carefully and see if you can get a few answers of your own.” Dr. Benzedrine added in an undertone, so only Sandman could hear, before leaving with Crab.  
Sandman watched the door click shut, and turned his attention to Kobra.  
“Alright, you said you wanted to ask some questions. Ask away.” He said, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms.  
“What’s with the makeup?” Kobra asked, circling his finger in the air around his lips and raising one of those sharp eyebrows.  
“That’s the question you go with?” Sandman asked, scrunching his eyebrows in confusion.  
“You never said there was a limit to what I could ask. I want to know what’s up with the makeup.”  
“Okay. It’s a disguise mechanism. Masks and helmets get in the way, this hides our faces without adding extra bulk.” Sandman explained.  
“Why is yours so dark? Your friends are all bright. You wear all black, and I’m sure that’s no fun out in the zones where it’s sweltering.”  
“I don’t know.” Sandman couldn’t come up with a good explanation. “It’s just my thing. It’s always been like this. Move on to a better question, one that’s actually about what you’re wondering instead of this random nonsense about my fashion choices.”  
“Geez, no need to be sassy, I was making conversation.” Kobra said, holding his hands up defensively.  
“Well, I figure you’re stalling until you can ask the real question you’re wondering, so what is it?”  
“Okay, there’s three. Who are you? And by that I don’t mean you specifically, I mean your organization. You and the doctor and the others. Why are you doing it? And who do you work for?” Kobra asked.  
“We’re healers. We find people who are hurt or sick, and we take care of them until they’re okay again. We do it because we have the recourses to do so, and it’s something that’s greatly needed around here. When all of the doctors are BL/ind agents, anyone who goes to them is bound to get drugged and corrupted, so we prevent that from happening to anyone. We don’t work for anyone. We do what we need to do, and we take care of ourselves and each other.” The Sandman explained. “What about you? Same questions.”  
“Was it part of the deal that I answer?” Kobra asked.  
“You don’t have to, but so far I’ve saved your life and answered five questions without... Okay with minor complaint.” Sandman said when Kobra gave him a look. “The least you can do is tell me a little about the Kobra Kid.”  
Sandman thought he might have seen a hint of a smile perk on that poker face, but if there was anything, it was gone in an instant.  
“Alright, you’re not wrong.” He said. “My group is the Fabulous Killjoys.”  
Sandman sucked in a breath at this part, but said nothing, hoping Kobra hadn’t noticed. He had a Killjoy in his room, and he wasn’t exactly sure how he felt about that. He could potentially be in the midst of one of the most dangerous wanted criminals in all of California. This lanky beanpole of a kid was one of the four that the Exterminators were after, and that just made it all the more ridiculous, because despite his looks, Sandman was sure he could probably take him and his friends down singlehandedly if he wanted to. At least, that’s what BL/ind led them to believe. Sandman still couldn’t be sure if Kobra was a threat or not.  
“We are like you, in most aspects, but we don’t heal, we fight.” Kobra continued. “We strategize and plan, and then we do everything in our power to infiltrate BL/ind and take them down. And we will. We’re gonna see to it that this goddamned city finds itself in better days. We won’t sit around and watch people get brainwashed and killed by psychopaths.”  
“Do you remember passing out?” Sandman asked.  
“Yeah? Kind of?” Kobra said, asking both answers as if they were questions, even though they weren’t. “Why’re you asking that?”  
“I’ve still got one more question left, then it’s even.” Sandman said. “How much of it do you remember?”  
“Bits an pieces. I was in and out most of the time. I remember you asking me a lot of questions.”  
“Do you remember anything else?”  
“That’s a sixth question, Mr. Sandman.” Kobra said, a sly smirk spreading across his face.  
“You do remember.” Sandman said sheepishly.  
“Is that what I said?” Kobra asked, tilting his head to the side innocently.  
Sandman grinned.  
“No, it’s not, and that was just another question I answered for you, so now you owe me this one.”  
“Fuck.” Kobra said, realizing his mistake.  
“So do you remember what happened towards the end?”  
“You mean your poor friend walking in on your humiliating little situation?” Kobra asked. “It was a little foggy for me, you might have to do a reenactment.”  
Sandman looked taken aback, unsure of how to respond to that.  
“That was a joke. I was messing with you.” Kobra said after a moment.  
“How do you keep such a straight face?” Sandman asked.  
“I dunno, I just do.” Kobra shrugged. “Hey, I’ve got to go. My brother’s gonna worry, and you don’t really want him bursting in here when he’s upset.”  
“You’ve got to stay, Dr. Benzedrine hasn’t gotten the test results in yet, and something could still be wrong with you.” Sandman said. “Not to doubt your brother’s abilities, but we’re well protected. Nobody’s going to find us.”  
Kobra sighed, shifting in an annoyance on the bed.  
“Sorry, dude.”  
~  
Show Pony skated into the diner early in the morning, trailed by the girl, Grace.  
“Good, you’re alright.” Poison sighed, rushing to bend down and hug her.  
Jet was close behind, distracting Grace from Poison’s tense and worried demeanor by lifting and spinning her, so she grinned and giggled.  
“Where were you?” Poison asked, looking like an overly concerned mother. “I told you to stay with Dr. D, and Pony says you snuck out on him.”  
“I went to the mailbox for the dead.” Grace said. “I had to send a letter to my mom.”  
“You have to be careful, you could have been ghosted and then–”  
“Poison.” Jet cut him off, shooting him a glare. “Grace, why don’t we go out back, and I’ll show you that technique you were asking about.”  
“Okay.” Grace said happily, grabbing Jet’s hand, and dragging him outside.  
As they left, Poison could hear the girl ask, “Where’s Kobra Kid?”  
“Any news?” Poison asked, leaning against the bar.  
Pony shook their head, and handed Poison a slip of paper, containing an update from Dr. D.  
“Alright.” Poison sighed, running a hand through his hair, and scribbling a reply on the back, adding in a note about Kobra going missing. “Have Dr. D broadcast that Kobra Kid and Jet Star were ghosted on Route Guano. I want BL/ind to think Kobra’s dead, so they don’t go looking for him, and I want them to think I’m alone.”  
Pony nodded this time, taking the note, and heading out.  
Poison sat on the barstool, staring at nothing, and wishing he had some whiskey to take away the pain.  
~  
“What’s wrong?” Dr. Benzedrine asked, when Sandman closed the door behind him, looking a little nervous.  
“Well, I learned something about our fainting little guest.” Sandman said uneasily.  
“What?” Crab asked.  
“He’s one of the Killjoys.”  
“No way.” Donnie said, astounded.  
“You’re telling me one of the infamous Killjoys is through that room right now, and we’re not taking extra precautions?” Crab asked. “He could be dangerous.”  
“Not with the way his medical results came up.” Dr. Benzedrine said. “His toxicity levels are abnormally high, which means they didn’t just stun him, they tried to drug him too.”  
“With what?” Donnie asked.  
“Remember those rumors we heard about one of the Killjoys being drugged and brainwashed by BL/ind?” Sandman asked, and the others nodded. “I figure they were trying to do the same to him, but for some reason, it backfired. I don’t know why they didn’t manage to complete whatever they were trying to do, but I don’t think he remembers any of it.”  
“Should we be telling him?” Donnie asked. “Maybe he knows why they did it, and what it might be.”  
“I suppose we should.” The doctor said gravely, grabbing the door handle.  
Upon entering, they noticed that the small window above the bed was wide open, and Kobra, along with all of his things, was gone.  
Sandman swore.  
“How did he fit through that damn window?” He asked. “I left him for five minutes, the damn kid couldn’t stick around long enough to hear the news that he’s in trouble?”  
“He can’t be out there alone.” Dr. Benzedrine said, looking worried. “With all of those drugs in his system, he’s not going to last long on his own, and it’ll be even worse if he runs into someone unfriendly.”  
“I’m going to go get him.” Sandman said, grabbing his black leather jacket and a crash helmet.  
“What if you run into trouble? There’s a shit ton of Dracs out at this hour.” Crab said.  
“Then I’ll be prepared.” Sandman said, pulling open the desk drawer and extracting a sleek black ray gun.  
“Where did you get that?” Donnie asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise, as Sandman stuck the gun in his boot.  
“Does it matter where I got it? I’ve been keeping it here just in case, since you guys don’t seem to think we need protection.”  
“We’re supposed to be helping people, not hurting them.” Said the doctor, disheartened.  
“Yeah, well, what happens when they hurt us?” Sandman asked, fitting the helmet on his head, and turning to leave. “I’ll be back, with the kid.”


	3. Section 3

“Bad news from the zones tumbleweeds. It looks like Jet-Star and the Kobra Kid had a clap with an Exterminator that went all Costa Rica and uh, got themselves ghosted, dusted out on Route Guano. So it's time to hit the red-line and up thrust the volume out there. Keep your boots tight, keep your gun close, and die with your mask on if you've got to. Here is the traffic.”  
Ghoul switched the radio off, realizing that was a mistake by the look Korse gave him.  
“Thoughts?” Was all Korse said.  
Ghoul kept his expression blank. He would be a fool not to answer, and it would only get him in more trouble.  
“I didn’t want to listen to any more.” He muttered. “Traffic is boring anyway.”  
“Right. And about your friends?”  
Of course, the topic Ghoul was avoiding. He swallowed hard before answering.  
“Ex-friends.” He corrected, and Korse smiled in approval. “They were evil, but it still hurt.”  
“Of course it did. You cared about them, and you gave them everything, and then they turned on you.” Korse nodded.  
“Was it you?” Ghoul asked before he could stop himself.  
“I wish I could say it was.” Korse said, almost sadly. “But no. It was probably some other Exterminator stationed further out in the zones.”  
“Oh.” It was said flatly, and Ghoul didn’t know what it meant. He didn’t know if Korse’s answer was a good thing or not.  
“It is a pity. We could have helped them.” Korse shook his head ruefully, but Ghoul didn’t think he sounded so sincere. “Perhaps it’s for the best. We almost managed to convert the Kobra Kid, but it was a failure. They aren’t as strong as you. They wouldn’t have made it. It’s better for them to die now than let you get your hopes up of them making it through to be at your side again.”  
Ghoul suddenly had the image of his old friends laying dead in the sand painted across his eyelids. Every time he blinked, he could see blood mixing into Jet’s curls or Kobra’s neck twisted at an unnatural angle. It was as if they were looking at him, but the light was gone behind their eyes, and along with it, everything that made them them.  
“So, what do you think about their deaths? How are you going to move forward?” Korse asked when Ghoul continued to stay silent.  
“I’m going to forget about them.” Ghoul said, even as the image became clearer in his mind, remembering them in more detail than before. He was going to have to visit Poison tonight. “It’s just two less we have to worry about converting.”  
~  
It was nice of Sandman and the doctor and the others to help him out, but Kobra couldn’t stick around. He had to get back to the other Killjoys, so they could get a move on. They weren’t going to get anything done if Poison and Jet were unnecessarily worrying about Kobra instead of figuring out how they were going to get Ghoul back.  
He’d snuck out through the window, rather than leave the room and try to find the way out. He would’ve been bound to get lost in there, and would’ve run into one of them, and Kobra didn’t like goodbyes. They were always weird, and it had just become easier to disappear rather than stick around to say goodbye every time he had to leave somewhere.  
He scanned the area, taking note of any familiar landmarks. There weren’t any, and it was the heat of the day. Maybe he should have left at night, when it would be cooler. Though, trying to navigate an unfamiliar area in the dark would have been much harder.  
Where were Poison and Jet when you needed them? The last time he had been kidnapped, the Killjoys had shown up at just the right time to whisk him away before those psycho sexed up girls noticed he was gone. Poison had teased him for a week about that little incident, but at least he had shown up to get him out of there. That was a time in his life that Kobra very much liked to forget. Now, he didn’t exactly feel the urgency that he had last time, because he technically hadn’t been kidnapped this time, so these guys wouldn’t be going out looking for him. But he still didn’t want to be in this goddamn desert in the heat any longer than he had to, especially not if he was going to end up dehydrated again.  
A glint of movement in the corner of his eye sent his hand over to the handle of his ray gun, clutching it, but not brandishing it yet. He watched the spot where he had seen something carefully, looking to the nearby areas as well. He saw more movement in the brush, and then the grotesque mask of a Draculoid, it’s face contorted into a permanent scream.  
Now he did wield his weapon, shooting once, but the Draculoid disappeared as soon as he saw it, the bullet doing nothing more than spraying a bit of sand into the air.  
Out of what seemed like nowhere, three more appeared, running at him, but from a far enough distance that he could shoot each of them down. But he didn’t see the bodies fall to the sand.  
He heard the sound of a motorcycle behind him, and whipped around, aiming his ray gun at the dark figure that was speeding towards him. He didn’t shoot though, seeing that it wasn’t a Draculoid, or for what he could tell, an Exterminator. The motorcycle skidded to a quick stop, the rider half-leaping off of the motorcycle before it stopped moving.  
He whipped off the helmet to reveal Sandman, and Kobra was fuming now, but he flipped around and turned his attention back to the Dracs.  
Two more down, but he knew more were hiding somewhere. Sandman came up behind him, grabbing his shoulder.  
“What are you doing?” Sandman asked, eyes wide, and looking genuinely scared, but not of the Dracs. It was more like he was afraid of–or for–Kobra.  
“You’ve got to get the fuck out of here! They’re after me, not you.” Kobra exclaimed, angry that he had shown up. “They’ll kill you if they think you’re in the way.”  
“Kobra,”  
“Go!” He shouted, pointing at the abandoned motorbike.  
“Kobra!” Sandman yelled, grabbing hold of his wrists and getting right in his face. “There’s nothing here.”  
“What do you mean there’s nothing here?” Kobra yelled right back. “Let go, I need to keep them from–”  
“You’re imagining things. Hallucinating, okay? There’s nobody here except for me.” Sandman said. “But if we don’t get going, we’re gonna be in trouble. If they heard your shots, which I’m sure they have this close to the S/C/A/R/E/C/R/O/W Outpost, they’re gonna come for us.”  
Kobra let out a breath, and stuck his ray gun back in it’s holster. He kept his hand on it, and Sandman wasn’t sure if it was because he didn’t believe they were safe, or if it was to hide the fact that his hands were shaking.  
“You coming or what?” Sandman asked, raising an eyebrow.  
“Um...” Kobra was just staring off at nothing, and Sandman figured he was seeing more Draculoids, and trying to get over the fact that they weren’t really there.  
“What the fuck did they do to you?” He muttered, slinging Kobra’s arm around his shoulders and half-dragging him to the motorcycle. He swung a leg over the vehicle, and Kobra reluctantly followed suit behind him. “Okay, listen, I’m gonna need you to hold on tight. Think you can do that, or are we going to have a repeat of this morning?”  
“I can fucking do it.” Kobra sounded annoyed at having to go back, but slipped his arms around Sandman’s waist, and took hold of his belt. “You don’t have to baby me, I’m just a little in shock.”  
“I won’t then.”  
It felt good to take off, letting the motion wash a breeze over them. It was hot enough as it was, and now that Sandman had a warm body pressed close against him, it was even hotter.  
“Fuck.” Sandman muttered, hitting the throttle.  
“I’m not hallucinating this time, right?” Kobra asked.  
“Nope, that really is a car full of fucking Dracs on our tail.”  
“Just great.” Kobra scoffed.  
He untangled his arms from Sandman’s waist, and flipped around on the bike so he was facing backwards.  
“What are you doing?” Sandman asked, risking a glance behind him. The Dracs were getting closer; cars usually could go faster than the motorbikes.  
“Just keep driving.” Kobra said, pulling his ray gun from the holster at his hip.  
Sandman heard the sound of three shots going off. One hit the sand next to them, which meant the Dracs were firing back.  
“Motherfucker.” Kobra swore.  
“They hit you?” Sandman asked, worriedly.  
“Nope, I’ve just got a short temper, and this position is doing jack shit.” Kobra replied. “Alright, don’t slow down, I’m gonna take them out.”  
He grabbed onto Sandman’s shoulder, and using it as leverage, balanced himself on the back of the bike in a standing position.  
“Shit, man, you’re gonna fall off.”  
“Don’t slow down.” Kobra repeated, voice lowering in his concentration.  
With the hand that wasn’t holding onto Sandman’s shoulder, Kobra stuck his arm straight out, and aimed for the Drac driving the car. He shot the glass in, then took out the guy driving, but the body was shoved out the door, and replaced by a new driver.  
“I got one of ‘em.” Kobra updated him.  
“Sit the fuck down, I need to turn!” Sandman called back.  
Kobra twisted, and dropped back down into his original position on the bike, sticking the ray gun back into it’s holster. He didn’t have enough time to take hold of Sandman’s belt this time, so he just hugged him tightly as they rounded a sharp corner, the side of the bike nearly parallel to the ground.  
“Alright, good? No more unexpected turns?” Kobra asked once they righted themselves.  
“Ask the road, I don’t choose when it decides to twist.”  
“Alright, fine. I’d rather die in a motorcycle accident than at the hands of one of these assholes.” Kobra said, flipping around again.  
He took out one of the Dracs in the front, but the Drac stuck through the sunroof managed to shoot him right in the arm.  
“Ah, you piece of shit!” Kobra cursed, as the force of the impact knocked the ray gun right out of his hand. “We are going back for that when I’ve killed these assholes, hear me?”  
“You want to go back after this?” Sandman asked, alarmed.  
“Well you’re sure as hell not taking us back to your place if they’re after us, I figure it’ll be on the way back.” Kobra snatched the black ray gun out of Sandman’s boot, which he had completely forgot that he had brought. “Thanks, I’m borrowing this.”  
“Knock yourself out.”  
“Fuck you, you stupid motherfucker.” Kobra murmured, shooting down the Drac in the sunroof. “Shooting me in the arm like that, and making me lose my precious gun. Dick.”  
“You know they can’t hear you, right?” Sandman mentioned.  
“Yeah, I realize. Keep driving, I’m almost done.” Kobra aimed much lower this time, and shot a hole right in the front wheel of the car.  
It skidded to the side, and since it had been going much too fast, it toppled over, rolling back into an upright position, then blowing up a few feet off the road.  
“Shit, that was good.” Sandman said, slowing down a bit.  
“It’s not over yet.” Kobra said, tucking the gun back into Sandman’s boot. “You might need that in a second.”  
He didn’t give warning or explanation, standing back up on the bike, this time without holding onto Sandman’s shoulder.  
Kobra jumped off the bike, and Sandman cried out in alarm.  
Sandman turned the bike around, planting his feet on the ground to stop and stabilize it. He watched as Kobra tuck and rolled into the sand, starting to run towards the small group of Dracs that had survived the crash. Sandman started the bike back up, clearing the distance he had gained while Kobra jumped. In that time, Kobra had engaged in the most strategic hand-to-hand combat Sandman had ever seen. He would have tried to shoot one of the Dracs going after Kobra, but he didn’t trust his own aim, since he’d only ever done a few practice shots with the thing.  
Three down by the time Sandman managed to stop the bike again, and just two more to go, one of which Kobra snapped the neck of. Sandman grabbed the back of the head of the last Drac, and since it hadn’t been expecting another foe to come up behind it, didn’t notice Sandman until he had the ray run pressed against it’s head. He pulled the trigger.  
That, he realized, was the first time he had ever killed someone.  
He didn’t have time to think about it as he grabbed Kobra’s wrist and pulled him towards the bike again.  
“How’s your arm?” He asked on the way.  
“Bleeding, but fine for now.” Kobra responded. “That was some good work. I didn’t think you could actually use that thing.”  
“I didn’t think so either.” Sandman said truthfully, the ray gun feeling extra heavy in his boot now.  
“Alright, let’s go find my gun.”  
“We have to get you back to the doctor, your arm is–”  
“Fine, my arm is fine. I want my gun back. Take me to it.” Kobra said sternly.  
“If you say so.”  
~  
Jet was shaken awake in the middle of the night, opening his eyes to Grace’s worried little face.  
“Grace?” He asked groggily, rubbing his face.  
“Poison left.” She said.  
“What? What do you mean he left? Where did he go?”  
“He went to see Ghoul.”  
“He what?” Jet asked, sitting up abruptly.  
“He told me to go back to sleep and not tell you, so I ignored him and told you.” Grace said. “That was the right thing to do, right?”  
“Shit. Yes, it was the right thing, Grace we’ve got to get moving.” Jet said, already pulling on his boots and jacket.  
“Is Poison in trouble?” Grace asked.  
“I don’t know yet.” Jet said. “But I’m not taking any chances.”  
~  
Back at the hospital, Kobra sat on the bed, letting Sandman wrap his arm in gauze. He was examining his ray gun, frowning at the sand that had gotten in the crevices and the scuff marks from it hitting the pavement.  
“This is gonna take forever to get back to normal.” He said. “Damn Dracs.”  
“You’re more concerned about the gun than your arm.” Sandman said. “That concerns me, this is a nasty injury.”  
“I’ve had worse, and I’m sure you’ve seen worse.” Kobra shrugged. “That’ll heal on it’s own, I’ve got to put work into fixing this.”  
Sandman shook his head, and tucked the end of the bandage under the rest.  
“Is that too tight, or good?”  
“It’s good.”  
“Alright.” Sandman said, standing. “Now I’m going to let you know that you’re not a prisoner here, but I’ve padlocked the window, because I don’t particularly like the idea of you getting yourself into trouble again. Once we’ve flushed the drugs out of your system, you can go wherever the hell you want, but for now, I’d advise you stay right here.”  
“Who the fuck padlocks a window?” Kobra asked.  
“I do. Now, get some rest. I need to go talk to the doctor.”  
“Alright. See you later.”  
~  
“What happened out there? You brought him back in worse condition than when he left.” Dr. Benzedrine asked when the four of them met up. “Did you run into Dracs?”  
“Sort of.” Sandman said. “We did, towards the end, but we took care of them.” The others didn’t ask what he meant by the last part. They could guess, and they didn’t want to know. “But before that, when I first showed up, he thought he was having a run in with some of them, but he wasn’t.”  
“What do you mean?” Donnie asked.  
“Well, he’s having hallucinations.” Sandman said. “Seeing things that aren’t there, and hurting himself as a result.”  
“Maybe they did complete whatever they wanted to do to him.” Donnie suggested. “Maybe they weren’t trying to brainwash him like they did to that other Killjoy. Maybe they wanted to do something different with him.”  
“That could be.” Dr. Benzedrine said. “Regardless of what they wanted to do to him, they did manage to do some real damage to his mental state. We have to keep an eye on him. The drugs they used aren’t anything I’m familiar with, and his reactions could be unpredictable.”  
“Should we be worried?” Crab asked, clearly still suspicious of the Killjoy.  
“I don’t know.” Dr. Benzedrine said, looking to Sandman as if he would have an answer. “You’ve spent the most time with him. Do you figure he’s a threat?”  
“I wouldn’t think so.” Sandman said. “He seems sweet, if not a little pissed most of the time. I don’t think he would do anything to hurt us. Dracs or Exterminators, he’d kill them in a heartbeat, but he’s not out to hurt any innocent people.”  
“So he did kill the Dracs you encountered?” Crab asked.  
“Most of them.” Sandman said. “I killed one.”  
Donnie looked like he was going to faint at that, and Crab and the doctor both took a slight step back in surprise.  
“There are be better methods than killing.” Donnie said, always the pacifist.  
“Like I said before, it’s for protection. There wasn’t another way.” Sandman said, but he didn’t feel very good about the response. He still felt empty, and he didn’t like thinking about what he had done. He didn’t think his friends liked thinking about it either.


	4. Section 4

When Sandman entered the room, Kobra instantly knew something was on his mind.  
“What’s wrong?”  
“What do you mean?” Sandman asked, closing the door with his back.  
“I mean you came in here looking like something was eating away at your mind. So what is it?” Kobra asked.  
Sandman didn’t answer right away, but eventually he must have come to decide he could say what he was thinking of because he finally said, “I’ve never killed anyone before.”  
“You work in a hospital.” Kobra said, raising an eyebrow.  
“What do you think a hospital is?”  
“I’d assume you’d see lots of death around here.”  
“Well, yeah. But that’s different.”  
“How so?”  
“Well... Here I’m trying to keep them alive.” Sandman tried to explain. “That was... I wanted him dead. That’s not normal.”  
“They’re Dracs. They would have killed us if we hadn’t killed them. They’re brainwashed, you can’t help them.”  
“Would you kill your friend if you had to?” Sandman asked. Despite only hearing of that brainwashed Killjoy by word of patients, Sandman had a feeling it was more than just a rumor. “He’s brainwashed. No better than them.”  
“No, I wouldn’t kill him.” Kobra said, and Sandman rolled his eyes, realizing just how hypocritical this Killjoy could be. “I would let my brother do it.”  
“What?” Sandman asked, not expecting that. “Why?”  
“If Poison kills Ghoul, it means he can move on. If Jet or I do it, or anyone else for that matter, he’ll never be okay again. He has to do it, and he has to know in his heart that there’s no other way.” Kobra said. “If I kill Ghoul, I’m killing my brother as well.”  
“Oh.” Sandman didn’t know what to say.  
“Tell your friends that things aren’t black and white around here.” Kobra said, shocking Sandman as to how much he knew about their conversation. “Good people kill. It’s not out of choice, or hatred, or psychopathic tendencies. It just is. Don’t let them tell you what you did was wrong. You’re alive, and they would have been worse off without you.”  
“Right.” Sandman said, licking his lips. He didn’t know how to respond, but something about the words helped, a little.  
He didn’t want to stand there in silence, so he exited the room before it could get worse.  
~  
When Poison showed up at the location again, he wasn’t sure if Ghoul would come. But he had done it again somehow, snuck out of BL/ind, and made it to Poison right on time.  
“Are you doing alright?” Ghoul asked gently.  
It almost sounded like the old Ghoul. Almost.  
If it weren’t for that bit of knowledge in the back of his mind that Ghoul was not himself right now, Poison would have told him everything. Would have told him that Jet was okay, and Kobra was... Well, presumably not dead. There was a chance that he was dead. Enough of a chance that when mixed with everything going on with Ghoul, Poison’s eyes burned along with a sick feeling in his stomach.  
“Hey,” Ghoul rushed over, just as a few unchecked tears spilled over Poison’s cheeks.  
He was feeling too much in his chest, and he just wanted it to end. He just wanted it all to go away, and be back to normal. But he had to focus. He had to try to get information out of Ghoul. He had to get enough to formulate a plan to save him, and then get Kobra back as well.  
“You’re gonna be okay.” Ghoul took his hands, and Poison’s stomach twisted.  
He shouldn’t be this afraid of Ghoul, yet here he was, fighting the instinct to run far away.  
“I don’t think I am.” He said weakly, pulling his hands away. He couldn’t bring himself to allow that, not when that minimal touch set his mind out of balance. He had to focus, and it didn’t help when his mind was in a flurry.  
“You will be, though. Everything is going to get better after tonight. Soon you’ll forget about Kobra and Jet, and everything will be okay again.”  
“I don’t want to forget them.” Poison paused before saying, “I’m sorry you had to find out in that way.”  
He would have said he was sorry for lying, and for making him think they were dead, but he couldn’t do that. He had to let him believe it.  
“You could have waited to tell me in person.” Ghoul said, looking hurt.  
“I’m sorry.” He repeated, feeling empty.  
“No...” Ghoul sighed. “It would only have upset you more to have to say it. I suppose it’s for the best.”  
“I really fucking miss you, Ghoul.”  
“I’m right here.”  
“Yeah, I suppose you’re in there somewhere.” Poison whispered wistfully.  
He knew what was going to happen just then, and he made no effort to stop it. He let Ghoul pull him into a kiss, and let his mind be taken over by that sandstorm. That dangerous thing that made it hard to see, hard to breathe, and very, very hard to get out of.  
Maybe he had hoped it would be unfamiliar. That it wouldn’t feel the same, and that it would be a clear sign that he wasn’t thinking for himself. But no, it was still undeniably Ghoul, every movement he made exactly how Poison remembered it. His lips were soft, and just a bit rough from the habit of chewing on them from back when he had a lip ring, back before the world went to shit. He found himself bringing his arms up around Ghoul to pull him closer, and felt a faint brush just above his holster, where a bit of skin was exposed from his shirt riding up. Ghoul’s hand disappeared from there, and found itself against Poison’s face.  
“Come with me.” Ghoul said, suddenly pulling away.  
“Ghoul, no.”  
“Come with me, and we can fix you, and you can be happy again. BL/ind will make you better.”  
“I don’t need to be fixed.” Poison stumbled back, looking horrified. “What have they done to you?”  
“They have opened up my eyes, the way you should.” Ghoul said, aggression hinting his voice now. “Poison, we’ve killed people. Many people, and BL/ind is just trying to maintain order in this horrible city.”  
“As if they don’t kill people themselves!” Poison retorted. “What do you think an Exterminator does? Takes care of fucking roaches? They’ve really fucked you up, haven’t they?”  
“They know what’s best.” Ghoul said flatly. “Sometimes criminals have to die. It’s the way things are. They’re just trying to maintain justice.”  
“That is not what they’re doing. You think Kobra and Jet were criminals? That they deserved to die?” Poison spat.  
It was a low blow, considering Ghoul didn’t know the truth that they were alive, but Poison didn’t care. He was far past the point of being angry enough to use that against him.  
“We could have helped them. Korse said they almost managed to help Kobra, but he’s just so damn stubborn.” Ghoul shook his head sadly. “I can still help you, if you let me.”  
“You think you can, but you’re wrong.” Poison said icily. “I’m not the one who needs saving.”  
“But you’re alone.” Ghoul said, as if he couldn’t understand why Poison didn’t want help. “You can come with me, and I’ll protect you.”  
“You can’t do that! You don’t get it.”  
“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you get killed like the others.” Ghoul said quietly.  
“What?” Poison asked, just as he was grabbed from behind.  
He hadn’t even had the chance to prepare himself for the three Dracs that came out of nowhere, pinning his arms behind his back, and restricting him from breaking free. He reached for the ray gun in his holster, but was shocked to find it missing. He noticed the glint of yellow sticking out of Ghoul’s waistband, and his eyes widened.  
“You motherfucker, Ghoul!” He snarled, kicking out at the Dracs, but couldn’t get at an angle to make any impact. “You fucking traitor, I should have never trusted you!”  
“Everything is going to get better after today.” Ghoul said, turning away as Korse strode up and put a hand oh his shoulder.  
“Don’t you turn away from me, you piece of shit! Look me in the fucking eyes and tell me you want this!”  
“What do I do?” Ghoul ignored Poison, looking up to Korse.  
“It’s up to you. You’re in control. You’re in charge here.”  
“Is that what you’ve been telling him?” Poison scoffed, trying to twist out of the Dracs’ grips, but they were overpowering him by number and size. “BL/ind is always in control, Ghoul. They’re in control of every damn thing in this city, and they’re in control of your mind. Don’t let them do this to you. Don’t let them fool you!”  
“Take him to the van.” Ghoul ordered, keeping his head held high, and once again refusing to look at Poison as he walked by.  
“Ghoul!” Poison called out as he disappeared into the front of the large white BL/ind van.  
Korse still stood there with a cruel smile on his face. Once Ghoul was out of view, he went right up to Poison, and took his chin to force him to look up at him.  
“Don’t worry, sweetheart. You’ll get him back, eventually. You just won’t be you anymore.”  
Poison responded by wriggling free of his grasp and attempting to bite his hand, but Korse moved away quickly, and Poison couldn’t get much distance with the Dracs restraining him.  
“Careful now.” Korse said, tucking his hand into his pocket. “You’re going to be spending a lot of time with me from now on. Don’t want to do anything that would make me go hard on you.”  
“Go as hard as you’d like. I know what you are. You can torture and drug me until I’m as good as dead, but I will never cooperate with you.”  
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Korse said, turning. “You heard what your commander said. Van. Now.”  
~  
Ghoul could hear the struggle in the back of the van, and his heart felt heavy knowing that Poison wasn’t coming quietly. He knew he wouldn’t, but he had hoped he would.  
“He was angry.” Ghoul said, staring gloomily at the dashboard as Korse sat down in the driver’s seat.  
“Of course he was angry, he doesn’t understand. He thinks you’re trying to hurt him, but you’re not. Right?” Korse asked, raising an eyebrow.  
“No, I want to save him. I love him.”  
“Yes, you do.” Korse nodded his approval. “So what’s bothering you?”  
“I didn’t like ambushing him like that.” Ghoul bit his lip, feeling strange.  
“You had to. We waited as long as we could. Any longer and he would have figured it out. You gave him too much warning.”  
“I didn’t want to scare him.”  
“No, but it would have been inevitable.” Korse said. “He is going to be very upset with you. How will you deal with that?”  
“We’re gonna fix him. He’ll understand.” Ghoul said, looking to Korse now.  
“Not for a while.” Korse said, gentle as if he were talking to a child. “He is going to be very difficult. We have some prior plans first.”  
“What?” Ghoul asked, looking confused.  
“Don’t worry, you will be able to visit him whenever you want. But we will be performing some complicated procedures over the next week.”  
“Complicated how?”  
“Nothing you have to worry about.” Korse said. “You know how he is. You said it yourself that the Kobra Kid was stubborn. Siblings are often the same, deep down. I’d be willing to bet they both rely on their hearts more than their heads.”  
“I wouldn’t know. I only really have Poison to go off of. I mean, they were like that with each other, I can’t tell you the number of times they’d make stupid decisions to protect each other, but... I suppose today proves Poison’s like that, but Kobra never had anybody else, not before...” He stopped himself before he could admit out loud what had happened. “Anyway, we don’t have to worry about him bursting into headquarters guns a blazing. He would have, but now he’s gone.”  
“Pity.” Korse said. “He would have been an interesting one.”  
~  
Kobra woke to his arm bothering him, a dull pain that told him it must have started bleeding again. He checked the bandage, which sure enough, had been soaked through with blood. He flipped around on the bed, ready to go try to find some gauze, when he realized Sandman had fallen asleep at the desk.  
“Hey, wake up.” Kobra said, gently shaking Sandman’s shoulder.  
“Hmm?” He stirred but didn’t open his eyes.  
“What are you doing here? You’re sleeping in an awfully painful position.”  
“We’re over-occupied.” Sandman said sleepily, rubbing his eyes. “Don’t have room in the wards for you. Had to bring you to my room.”  
“This is your... Oh.” Kobra said, scooching over to make room on the bed. “Alright, well, come on then. You’re not gonna get any sleep like that.”  
“You sure?” Sandman asked, watching Kobra carefully.  
“Yeah, your neck looked like it was gonna snap off.” Kobra said honestly. “Listen, if the reason you’re hesitant is because of what happened this morning, just forget about it, okay? It’s really not that big of a deal. That wasn’t sexual, and neither is this, so don’t be so weirded out.”  
“You’re not shy.” Sandman muttered.  
“Actually, I am.” Kobra said, a rueful laugh twined into his words. “It’s weird. I dunno why it’s easier around you. Maybe it’s because of everything that happened today, and at this point what’s left to be shy about?”  
“Not much, I guess.” Sandman shrugged, then pointed out his arm. “Well, you need to be rewrapped before you can go back to sleep.”  
“I know, that’s why I woke up.” Kobra said.  
“Do you think it’s still bleeding, or did it subside?” Sandman asked, pulling a roll of gauze from the desk drawer.  
“It’s probably gone down a bit.”  
“Okay, good.” Sandman jumped up onto the bed, causing the mattress to lift up a bit, and startling Kobra. “Alright, let’s see it.”  
Kobra offered up his arm, and turned his face away to hide any heat that rose to his cheeks. It was one thing to say it was okay, and not weird, but another thing completely when it was actually a reality.  
Sandman was pressed close to Kobra as he undid the wrappings, and examined the injury.  
“Well, it’s not much better than before, but you’ll survive.” Sandman said, not even noticing the change in Kobra’s demeanor. “Do you feel fine?”  
Kobra cleared his throat so his voice would sound normal when he spoke.  
“Actually, I’m feeling a bit queasy, and my chest is kind of tight. It’s a bit hard to...” His voice caught on the last word as Sandman kneeled over him to get a better angle for wrapping the clean bandage. “Breathe.”  
“Really? You were fine a minute ago.” Sandman frowned, finishing up the new wrappings.  
He leaned over, and opened the drawer again to grab an old stethoscope.  
“Alright, let’s check it out. Lay down.”  
Despite the intense urge to avoid Sandman at all costs at the current moment, Kobra did as he was told. He had to keep reminding himself that this wasn’t what it felt like, especially when he felt the cool air hit his chest, and he felt the cold stethoscope and Sandman’s warm fingers against him.  
“Your heartbeat’s a little fast, but there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong.” Sandman said, puzzled.  
“Well, I probably just need sleep then.” Kobra said, a little too quickly to not sound suspicious.  
“You’re probably right.” Sandman said. “You sure about me sticking around here? I can go back to the desk...”  
Part of Kobra wanted to change his mind, and just say that it was too hot or something, which it was. But he had already offered, and it seemed kind of cruel to make him go back to sleeping at that uncomfortable wooden desk.  
“The offer still stands.” He replied, a little more weakly that he intended.  
“Alright.” Sandman said, twisting around and flopping down so he was directly next to Kobra.  
Kobra jumped a little in surprise, and scooted over until he was unnecessarily pressed against the wall, as far from Sandman as he could be.  
“Goodnight.” Sandman said, flipping off the light.  
“‘Night.” Kobra replied, his voice not really sounding quite right.  
He lay awake for another two hours, just listening to Sandman’s soft snores, too nervous to move or fall asleep. He realized, just then, that he was going to get himself into a lot of trouble with this one.


	5. Section 5

Everything sucked.  
The doctor only spoke to him for the patients’ benefit, and Donnie and Crab weren’t talking to him at all. He knew that they weren’t truly mad at him, and that they’d get over their shock about what he’d done, but it really wasn’t enjoyable. It was as if they didn’t realize he was already beating himself up over it. Didn’t they know he needed them?  
Sandman couldn’t stop thinking about killing that Drac. He always told himself Drac, because he couldn’t even bring himself to think of the Drac as a person. It didn’t make it any easier thinking in that way, because despite the knowledge that he was a Drac, and he was brainwashed and turned evil, it was too much for Sandman to bear. He’d killed a man, and adding the fact that it was a living, breathing human who before BL/ind. took over could very well have had a family was just too much to handle.  
And then there was Kobra, who he had to see every damn time he needed to go to his room, which just made things incredibly complicated. He didn’t want to hate him, but for some reason, he was just increasingly irritated every time he saw him. Maybe it was because every time he looked at him, he was expecting a death toll to appear above his head, telling him just how many people he’s killed. Sandman didn’t want to know, because it would only make him angrier, but part of him hated himself for guessing. Each time he thought about it, the number increased, and each time he realized how likely it was that it was a large number.  
“You have some sort of issue?” Kobra asked, when Sandman entered the room, very obviously indignant, letting the door slam behind him.  
“No.” Sandman said grumpily. “Well, I mean, I guess, you’re pulling me away from my friends. They think I’m some sort of psychopath now, after you made me kill that guy.”  
The fact that he’d asked must have set something off in Sandman, because he liked to think he wouldn’t have blown up like that in any other circumstance. Though, he was admittedly not known for bottling things up. He liked to state his mind, even if it was at the cost of everyone around him. The doctor always said he had to work on that.  
“I didn’t make you do anything.” Kobra said, squinting at him, and frowning. “That was all you.”  
“I wouldn’t have done it if it weren’t for you.” Sandman argued. “If I wasn’t worrying about your reckless ass, I never would have done it. Hell, I wouldn’t have even been there if you hadn’t stupidly run away.”  
Kobra rolled his eyes. He could see where this was going, and he didn’t have the time or energy to fight about this. He needed to spend his time planning. If he was stuck here, he had to at least be thinking about the Killjoys’ next move. Ghoul wasn’t going to save himself, so all of them were going to have to be thinking to figure out the best way to get him back. Being here was no excuse to slack.  
“I could have handled it. You didn’t have to do anything.” He said. “I think you know that, too, and that’s why you’re so mad at me. You can keep acting like all you ever want to do is save people, even the bad guys, but you’re not like your friends, not really. You wanted to do that. You’re more like me than you are them.”  
“You’re wrong.” Sandman snapped. “You’re violent and catastrophic, and you like to play hero when you’re really nothing but a spoiled baby boy!”  
“Wow real clever, call the kid who lives in a run down diner on nothing but Power Pup and is constantly on the run from assholes like the one you killed spoiled. That’ll show him. He’s gonna feel so guilty if you play that card.” Kobra said sarcastically. “News flash, buddy, I don’t take what you say to heart.”  
“Sure you don’t, you barely know me.” Sandman said, his voice going cold and flat. “But your friends know you, and there must be a reason they call you a kid. I’m willing to bet they think you’re just as childish as I do. You can’t take care of yourself, no matter how much you say you know what you’re doing, you have no idea. You do what you want, and you don’t care about the consequences.”  
Kobra was silent, his facial expression not showing any sign of this hurting him, but Sandman knew. He had figured out how to read this guy, and he knew just where to hit and how hard.  
“Hear me now, baby boy, it’s time you grow the fuck up.”  
Sandman turned and stormed out of the room. He didn’t give Kobra the chance to say any more, though he didn’t think Kobra would be able to find a response that wouldn’t prove his point anyway.  
~  
Poison sat on the edge of the bed, staring down at the floor and letting his hair hang down in front of his face. He had been doing that, without movement, for two hours that morning. The previous night he had gone around taking punches and kicks at the walls and door, cursing Ghoul with enraged screams. Eventually, five Draculoids had to go in there and restrain him. He took one of them down, but the one of other four managed to stick him with a sedation needle, and he slept through the rest of the night.  
Ghoul was watching the monitors the whole time. He had flinched a little when they stuck Poison with that needle. He had always hated needles, Ghoul still remembered that. He still remembered a lot, but it was all put through a filter. He remembered all of the jokes he used to pull in an attempt to get Kobra to smile. He remembered teaching Grace how to use a ray gun, and how proud he had been when she got it, and how Poison smiled at them from the sidelines. He remembered fighting back to back with Jet and the sweet sense of relief when all of them made it out of each fight alive. He remembered sleepless nights with Poison in the back of the old diner while the others slept, and the sounds Poison tried to stifle by biting Ghoul’s shoulder. He wished he could hear those pretty noises free of any fear, though if that were ever to happen, it would have to wait. If Poison gave in to what they needed to do, it was something they could look forward to for their future. If Poison listened, they would let them be happy.  
“Did you sleep at all last night?”  
Ghoul had his hand on his chin in contemplation, and he didn’t lower it to shake his head just slightly, his mind somewhere else.  
Korse moved closer, towering over Ghoul, and looked at the screens. Ghoul hadn’t heard him enter, which made him realize just how distracted and in his own head he currently was.  
“He’s not doing much. The Monitors can watch these on their own. You don’t have to stick around.” He said.  
“I know.” Ghoul replied. “But he’s bound to do something. I want to know when he does.”  
“Get some rest. You don’t want to be running on a lack of sleep, especially not in times like these.” Korse said, handing him a small box.  
Ghoul knew what this box was. It was the same box they gave him every morning since they stopped forcing the pills on him. They didn’t have to do that anymore; the previous days’ pills made him compliant enough to take them on his own.  
He nodded, and left the room, leaving the watching to Korse and the Monitors.  
~  
Sandman was much more careful about how he entered the room in the afternoon. He’d had a few hours to think about what he’d said, and he realized he had gone a little overboard. Kobra was right, he didn’t make him pull that trigger. If he had been alone, he would have done it, too. That’s why he had the gun in the first place, even if he didn’t like to admit it. It was either the Dracs or him and Kobra, and he chose to save himself and Kobra. It was just how things were, and he couldn’t get worked up about it. He had to move on.  
“I’m surprised you’re still here, after all of those awful things I said to you.” He said gently.  
“You padlocked the window, remember?” Kobra was staring at the ceiling, either deep in thought or purposefully avoiding Sandman’s eye contact, he couldn’t tell. Perhaps it was both.  
“I think we both know that you’re perfectly capable of getting past that.” Sandman said honestly. “If you wanted to go, you would.”  
“You’re right.” Kobra admitted, sitting up and leaning forward to wrap his arms around his knees. “Maybe I can’t bring myself to go because I feel guilty. You were right about what you said.”  
“No, I wasn’t. It was wrong of me, and I shouldn’t have said it.” Sandman shifted uncomfortably. “I’m sorry.”  
“Forget it, okay. It doesn’t really matter.” Kobra muttered, rubbing his nose on his arm.  
“Okay.” Sandman paused a moment before saying, “Have you ever been to the Underground?”  
“The what?” Kobra looked up, and met Sandman’s eyes for the first time since he stepped foot in that room.  
“I figured you wouldn’t know what it was. I’ve got to go there for a business thing tonight, we’re running low on certain medical supplies.” Sandman said.  
“Okay?” Kobra said, his face scrunching up in confusion as to why he was telling him this. “Have fun, I guess.”  
“I was hoping you’d come with me.” Sandman said. “It’s a bad idea to go alone, and since you’re cooped up in here all the time... I thought maybe you’d want to get out.”  
“Shouldn’t you be bringing one of your friends?” Kobra tilted his head very slightly to the side.  
“They can’t handle it.” Sandman explained. “It’s too dangerous.”  
“What about the scary dude with all the tattoos?”  
Sandman let out a sarcastic laugh.  
“Yeah, you’re talking about the scariest pacifist of them all. Donnie and the doctor are way too soft for that place, not that that’s a bad thing, as I’m sure you’d be thinking.” Sandman said, and Kobra’s silence assured him that he did in fact think that being soft was considered a weakness. “I brought Crab to the Underground once, but some crazy shit went down that day, and he refuses to go back. You’re used to that kind of thing, it’s possible you’ll even like the place.”  
“Okay, fine. But I want you to know that this doesn’t make me part of your little team.” Kobra warned him.  
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Sandman said, tossing a pile of clothing at Kobra. “We have to blend in.”  
“Blending in with neon?” Kobra asked, examining the insanely bright articles in his lap.  
“Ironically, yeah. It’s what everyone wears there. If we were to wear normal clothing we’d draw too much attention.” Sandman said, shrugging.  
“Alright, when do we leave?”  
“Whenever you’re ready.”  
~  
The entire day went by without any movement from Poison. They brought him some food, but he ignored it completely, as if they had never even come into the room.  
The first time he moved since sitting up that morning was when the doors opened to admit Fun Ghoul and a group of Draculoid bodyguards. His jaw set, and he said nothing, but he watched Ghoul carefully.  
“Hello, Poison.” Ghoul greeted.  
“So what’s the plan, then?” His voice was quiet and slightly raspy from not talking for so long after screaming as much as he did the night before. “Are you gonna drug me like they did to you, or dissect me? ‘Cause I’ll warn you now, my guts aren’t that interesting.”  
Ghoul rolled his eyes, and waved the Draculoids away. They hesitated a moment, but left on his command.  
He took a seat on the cold metal floor, and crossed his legs, folding his hands in his lap. He did this for two reasons. One was because if Poison didn’t want to talk, he wasn’t going to make him, but he also wasn’t going to leave. The other was because the only other place to sit other than the bed was the toilet. That would be awkward, and he didn’t want to go invading Poison’s personal space by sitting next to him, not yet. He didn’t know what boundaries he could push at this point, and didn’t want to make things worse. Getting close to him again would take time, and patience. He was willing to spend his time and patience for that.  
“What?” Poison asked after a while, looking puzzled and annoyed.  
Ghoul shrugged.  
“Is there a reason you’re here or are you mocking me?” Poison frowned.  
“I’m not mocking you.” Ghoul said gently. “Trust me, I just want to make sure you’re okay.”  
“Well, I’m not okay.” Poison growled, turning around and leaning against the headboard.  
“I want you to be comfortable here.” Ghoul said. “They’re going to start doing procedures I guess. It’s not going to be easy, so I wanted to give you some warning, and also maybe beg you to cooperate.”  
“You know I won’t do that.” Poison cut in.  
Ghoul pursed his lips.  
“If you cooperate they won’t make you stay locked up in here anymore.” He said. “They’ll let you stay with me. It would make things easier for you if I can be there to help you through it, but I can only do that if you let me.”  
Poison sighed.  
“You know I’d take that in a heartbeat if I knew you were still you.”  
“I am still me.”  
“I knew you’d say that, and you’re wrong.”  
“Nothings changed Poison. I still love you. Kobra and Jet were still my brothers. I still cried over them. I still care about Grace. I still love you, and I remember everything, so there’s no need to think anything is any different than before just because we’re here now.”  
“I can’t argue with you. They’ve messed you up too much, and now you’re talking crazy.” Poison said, slipping down so he was laying in the bed and staring at the ceiling.  
“You don’t believe me?” Ghoul asked.  
“I do, but I know it’s not quite right because they’ve twisted your head. You mean everything you say, but you think everything else is okay.” Poison said. “You realize you kidnapped me and locked me up in a place where they’re gonna cut me open and fuck with my mind too, right?”  
“I didn’t kidnap you, I rescued you.” Ghoul tried to explain, but he couldn’t continue this conversation anymore. “Is it okay if I stay here?”  
Poison glanced over at him.  
“I don’t know. Is it?” Poison said. “You seem to think you’re making the decisions around here but would they approve if you stayed in here?”  
“They don’t care. I do make decisions, just not all of them.” Ghoul said.  
“Alright, fine, then stay if you want to, I’m not gonna try to make you leave, though I don’t think I can.”  
Poison crossed his arms over his chest, and just stared defiantly at the ceiling. Eventually, due to either boredom or exhaustion, he fell asleep.  
Ghoul just watched over him.  
He wished he could be there with him during the operation tomorrow. He knew it couldn’t be pleasant, especially not when he knew Poison wouldn’t cooperate. He wanted more than anything for him to submit so he could have him properly back, but that wasn’t a possibility right now. For now, he just had to wait. Someday, hopefully soon, he could hold him in his arms again, but for now he could only watch him in his sleep.  
~  
The Underground wasn’t actually underground. In reality, it was just a warehouse on the edge of Battery City, and was the only in and out that wasn’t watched by BL/ind. The secret doors on the outer edge of the building made going in from the zones easy if you knew the right people, and it was the one place where heavy trafficking could occur between the people in the zones and the dissidents of Battery City.  
Inside it was a blacklit bar with a little over half of the people wasted on the dance floor, and the other portion of people making deals or stalking around the edges of the warehouse looking for someone to take advantage of.  
The music was just the kind of absolutely horrible you could only get from hacking radio signals from rogue stations. One minute it would be some awful screeching techo-pop and then the next you’d hear what was possibly classical with an overlay of static and rap from two signals being intercepted.  
Sandman weaved his way through the people, knowing that Kobra was having a hard time keeping up with him by the way he pinched his sleeve to not get lost in the crowd, but he knew he was still with him, so he kept going. It was best to try not to get caught up in the people, and just keep focused on the task at hand.  
He stopped just outside the center of the dance floor, allowing an even amount of people to sandwich them into the crowd, and make listening in to what they were saying very hard.  
“What’s the plan?” Kobra hissed over the music, leaning close over Sandman’s shoulder so he could hear him but the prying ears around them couldn’t.  
The first challenge was to find the informant while still maintaining the appearance of two partiers who just wanted to get smashed. Sandman could look for the informant, but he had to get Kobra in on the partier part of the plan, which he realized quite quickly was going to be a major challenge for the kid.  
“Can you dance?” Sandman asked.  
“I don’t think so.” Kobra stiffened, and frowned. “Though fighting is often called dancing, and that I can do very well.”  
“I’m not asking if you’re a fricking prima donna, I just want to know if you can fake it well enough to look like you’re here for a good time.”  
Kobra looked absolutely terrified, and Sandman sighed.  
“Okay, fine, just at least try not to look like you’re as uncomfortable with this as you evidently are.” He said, wrapping an arm around Kobra’s neck and moving to the music against him. “I can do most of the work, but you’re supposed to look tipsy at least.”  
“You want that, you’re gonna have to get me actually drunk.” Kobra deadpanned.  
Sandman laughed loudly, looking wild, and Kobra was so taken aback that he nearly toppled over when Sandman playfully hit his shoulder.  
“Don’t test me, Kobra.” Sandman said through his overly ecstatic smile. “Tipsy.”  
“Okay. Right.” Kobra said, closing his eyes for a second to compose himself. He was going to have to dig really deep into himself to find that buried part of him that could let loose. He’d repressed that for so long, he wasn’t even sure he still had it, but he managed to find something because somehow Sandman had managed to get him grinning, and now he was moving with him under the flashing lights. It was erratic yet controlled, just like fighting. He just had to make the right moves at the right time, and with everyone as drugged up and drunk as they were, it wouldn’t be hard to convince anyone that they were just as fucked up. “Doing good?”  
“Doing fucking great, Kobra.” Sandman grabbed his wrist, and while still half-dancing to the shitty music, he pulled him in the direction of a man along the wall.  
Honestly, he was feeling pretty good now. It was like breaking free to that little part of him that enjoyed this opened up a whole stream of euphoria that actually made him excited to be there, as weird as that was.  
“I’ve got the informant.” Sandman said, still faking his giddiness. “I can’t bring you with me, or they’ll think I’m trying to gang up on them. Wait right here, okay?”  
“Okay!” Kobra had never heard his own voice sound so loud and happy, but that was fine, because everything was great at that very moment, and nothing mattered.  
Sandman slipped through the sweaty mass of people that smelled strongly of alcohol, and carefully approached the informant.  
“You the Sandman?” The guy asked when he gave him the three finger signal.  
“Mr. Sandman.” He corrected, smirking. “You know I’ve already payed in advance. What’s the location?”  
Without saying a word, the guy passed him a dog tag with coordinates on it. Sandman slipped it over his neck, and tucked it safely into his shirt. When he looked up, the guy was gone, blending in with the rest of the crazy people here, with no trace of this deal ever happening.  
Sandman turned, and made his way back to Kobra, who had thankfully listened to him, and stayed where he was told.  
“Look, they’ve got real food here.” Kobra said, grinning wildly, and showing Sandman a little meatball on a stick.  
“Holy fuck, do not eat that.” Sandman caught Kobra’s hand before he could do anything with the snack, and pried it out of his fingers.  
“Why not?” Kobra complained. “Do you know how long I’ve been eating dog food for?”  
He didn’t know, and felt a little guilty for keeping him on such a light diet at the hospital, but they couldn’t give him full meals that would effect his health so soon. Especially if all he’d been eating previously was dog food, he had to be weaned back into a regular diet.  
“I’ll get you real food later, okay? Just don’t eat or drink anything here unless you want to get raped.” Sandman dug his thumbs into the meatball, tearing it apart, and revealing a tiny white pill hidden inside. “It happens all the time here.”  
“Shit.” Kobra said, blanching. “I already ate one.”  
“Fuck. Did you get it from her?” Sandman nodded his head discreetly in the direction of a girl leaning against the wall, watching them pointedly.  
Kobra nodded, remembering her approaching him with a platter minutes before.  
“She’s been eyeing you up since we got here, I don’t like it.” Sandman muttered angrily, tossing the remnants of the destroyed meatball in a trash can.  
He made a hand signal that Kobra didn’t understand in the sightline of the girl, then wrapped an arm around his waist, latching his fingers around one of his belt loops. The girl diverted her attention and stalked off immediately.  
“What did that do?” Kobra asked lowly as Sandman ushered him away from where they had been standing.  
“A lot of higher ups here have human property, so I basically told her I own you.”  
“Hey,” Kobra said, offended. “That’s extremely immoral.”  
“I never said I thought it was moral, but it’s the best way to protect you until we can get out of here. You have to play your cards right around here, and if they think I hold a position of power, and you’re mine, they’ll move onto easier prey.”  
“I am not easy–”  
“You are now that you ate that thing.” Sandman interrupted. “Besides, we can’t be drawing too much attention to ourselves. We have to avoid confrontation at all costs, so you fighting anyone here would be a really stupid idea.”  
“I wish I could fight that bitch.” Kobra said grumpily.  
“I know you do, which is why you need to let me handle things, you’re too impulsive.” Sandman said. “Just let me get the supplies, and then I can try to get you out of here before it kicks in.”  
Sandman pulled Kobra by the wrist out a door, winding up in an alley that was dimly lit with flashing neon lights. He let his eyes adjust, scanning the area for anyone who might be lurking around when he was suddenly slammed against the brick wall of the Underground.  
He prepared himself to fend off an enemy, when he realized it was Kobra standing over him, and restraining him.  
They told him he was dangerous. The doctor and Crab and Donnie, they all knew and now he was never going to see them again because he stupidly let his guard down and he let this damn Killjoy earn his trust. And now he was going to kill him.  
Kobra leaned forward, and his eyes seemed to be on fire. Sandman could almost see the burning embers dancing in them. They reminded him of a lighter flame behind a glass of whiskey in a dark room.  
Why wasn’t he fighting back? He could, and should, just push him off and fight back. He was only being held by his upper arms, and he could do it. If it were anyone else, he would be doing whatever he could to break free, but for some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to do that to Kobra. Maybe he just knew it was futile to try to escape a Killjoy, or maybe he just didn’t care if he died.  
Close, too close, if one of them moved an inch they would be sharing breaths. Granted, they probably already were. The bricks dug painfully into Sandman’s shoulder blades, and his arms were stiff from being held in place.  
Only seconds had gone by, but it felt like so much longer than that, because Sandman felt like he’d had so much time to process everything and a million thoughts had gone through his head. Only seconds and he would be dead.  
Except he wasn’t dead seconds later. No, seconds later he had Kobra’s lips pressed against his own.  
Right, the drug.  
Sandman was ashamed to admit that he didn’t hesitate to kiss back, which was so incredibly wrong when he knew that Kobra was in this intoxicated state. But something made him forget that, letting his eyes flutter shut. He parted his lips for Kobra, and breathed him in, kissing with such ferocity he felt like they could probably consume each other. Kobra’s lips were hot against his, and it just felt too good to stop, so he used the part of his arms that weren’t being restrained to grab his belt loops again, and pull him right up against him. The fabric on that stupid neon green shirt he’d made him wear was way too thin, and Sandman could feel Kobra’s pounding heartbeat through it. He felt like his own was going to burst out of his chest and leave a hole right in the blinding yellow fabric of his own stupidly bright shirt.  
Now the biggest issue that came to his mind was that there was definitely the potential that he could fall in love with him. It was entirely possible. He probably wouldn’t have come to that conclusion so soon in any normal circumstances, but this had triggered a spark deep within him that could burst into an eternal flame if he let it. If it weren’t for what he knew Kobra was, he would let it get out of control now, but he couldn’t do that. The worst thing he could do is fall in love with someone who was constantly followed by peril; it would only end in one or both of them being killed.  
Guiltily, Sandman granted himself one more kiss before reluctantly pushing Kobra off of him.  
Kobra staggered a little, off balance from the high he was riding from the mixture of endorphins and drugs.  
“We have to go.” Sandman said, keeping his eyes trained on the ground, not addressing what just happened. He wasn’t sure if it was wise to, considering he was definitely to blame for letting it happen for so long. “We still have to actually get the supplies, and I need to get you back. The doctor will have to flush that drug out of your system.”  
Kobra let out a little deflated sigh and nodded. Apparently he was feeling quite dejected for not being able to continue their little session against the wall. Yeah, that drug was doing it’s work, and Sandman was so glad he managed to get him out of the Underground before it took effect.  
He wasn’t too worried about getting Kobra back to normal, not once they got back to the hospital. The drug wasn’t long lasting, and it wasn’t too hard to flush out of the system. What he was worried about was how Kobra had reacted to it, and what that revealed to Sandman. He knew how it worked, since they got a lot of patients in who were on it, but in most cases, they could function fairly normally around him. Just being around him shouldn’t have triggered any effects of the drug. If that girl wanted to do anything to Kobra, she would have had to work for it, and initiate something before any effects could kick in. It didn’t work if there was no trigger to set it off, and he hadn’t done anything to kickstart it. That wasn’t to say that none of his patients had ever pulled a stunt like this on the drug, but that was always how he knew they were attracted to him. There had to be something underlying for the drug to work without his intervening, which told him a lot more than he should know about Kobra.  
What that meant was that it wasn’t just him who was feeling a bit more than he should. That, in itself, was what concerned him.


End file.
